20 Killed in Failed Syrian Scud Missile Test

At least 20 Syrian civilians were killed and 60 others were wounded in a failed missile test by Syria, North Korea and Iran in May.

By Hana Levi Julian

First Publish: 8/16/2009, 10:43 AM / Last Update: 8/16/2009, 11:08 AM

Israel news photo

At least 20 Syrian civilians were killed and 60 were wounded in a failed missile test in May, Japan's Kyodo News reported Friday.

The test involved two updated Scud missiles developed together by Syria, North Korea and Iran. Both exhibited defective guidance systems, according to a Middle Eastern military source quoted in the report.

One of the short-range ballistic missiles hit a market near the Syrian-Turkish border, causing dozens of civilian casualties.

Syrian forces attributed the blast to a gas explosion and blocked off the site to recover the remains of the missile.

The landing site of the second missile was not discosed in the report, which also quoted Western diplomats.

One of the sources speculated that the second missile may have exploded somewhere on the Syrian border with Iraq.

Evidence from the site of a destroyed nuclear reactor in northeastern Syria that was allegedly bombed by the Israel Air Force on September 6, 2007, showed that North Korea had been involved in the manufacture and construction of the facility.